DENVER (AP) — The mustard-colored muck that spilled from a Colorado mine and surged into a river contains heavy metals including lead and arsenic, federal environmental officials confirmed Friday, but they didn't immediately discuss amounts in the water or health risks.
The spill also contained cadmium, aluminum, copper and calcium, the Environmental Protection Agency said. During a public meeting in Durango, EPA Regional Director Shaun McGrath did not mention whether the elements posed a health hazard but said local authorities were right to close the Animas River to human activities.
At least two of the heavy metals can be lethal for humans in long-term exposure. Arsenic at high levels can cause blindness, paralysis and cancer. Lead poisoning can create muscle and vision problems for adults, harm development in fetuses, and lead to kidney disease, developmental problems and sometimes death in children, the agency said.
EPA and contractor crews accidentally unleashed 1 million gallons of wastewater from the shuttered Gold King Mine on Wednesday, and it flowed into the river through a tributary. The EPA warned people to stay out of the river popular with boaters and anglers to keep domestic animals from drinking from it.
There have been no reports of drinking-water contamination because water utilities shut down their intake valves ahead of the plume to keep it out of their systems. Farmers also closed the gates on their irrigation ditches to protect their crops, and Colorado officials were testing the effects on fish.
The sludge is creeping toward communities in northern New Mexico, where tests also were being done. But the EPA says no information has been released yet.
New Mexico officials were angry they were not told of the spill until Thursday, nearly a day after it occurred.
"We're having a real problem getting EPA to tell us what's in this stuff," Don Cooper, emergency manager for San Juan County, New Mexico, said earlier Friday. "We're just kind of shooting in the dark and telling people to stay away from it."
McGrath apologized for the EPA's response and for previously sounding "cavalier" about the concerns for public health and the environment.
"Our initial response to it was not appropriate in that we did not understand the full extent of what we were looking at here," he said.
Few details have been released about the spill, except that a cleanup crew accidentally breached a containment structure. The crew was trying to enter the mine as part of a project to pump and treat the water, EPA spokeswoman Lisa McClain-Vanderpool said.
The waste spilled into Cement Creek, which flows into the Animas River north of the historic mining town of Silverton in Colorado's San Juan Mountains.
The river is a recreational destination and even served as the backdrop for parts of the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Passengers on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad snap thousands of photos of the waterway as the steam-powered trains chug up the narrow canyon beside it.
"It's such a shame, it's such a beautiful river," said Jeff McCoy, who was watching from the riverbank in Durango, where he was on a fishing trip with his son.
"We usually come out here in the beautiful weather to fish, but no fishing today," said McCoy, who lives in Phoenix.
It's expected to reach the northern New Mexico cities of Aztec and Farmington by Friday evening. The heavy metals were making the plume travel more slowly than expected, and it was unclear how far it would reach or when it would dissipate, officials said.
The river had begun to clear up in Silverton, McClain-Vanderpool said. Officials were releasing extra water from at least one reservoir to help dilute the pollution.
The Animas River flows into New Mexico's San Juan River, which is home to some endangered fish and joins the Colorado River in Utah.
Utah's director of water quality, Walt Baker, said residents were advised to avoid the affected rivers.
"Until we know what we're up against and what the effects will be, we're saying, 'Be cautious,'" Baker said.
Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com/
Author: Kristin Wyatt
The spill also contained cadmium, aluminum, copper and calcium, the Environmental Protection Agency said. During a public meeting in Durango, EPA Regional Director Shaun McGrath did not mention whether the elements posed a health hazard but said local authorities were right to close the Animas River to human activities.
At least two of the heavy metals can be lethal for humans in long-term exposure. Arsenic at high levels can cause blindness, paralysis and cancer. Lead poisoning can create muscle and vision problems for adults, harm development in fetuses, and lead to kidney disease, developmental problems and sometimes death in children, the agency said.
EPA and contractor crews accidentally unleashed 1 million gallons of wastewater from the shuttered Gold King Mine on Wednesday, and it flowed into the river through a tributary. The EPA warned people to stay out of the river popular with boaters and anglers to keep domestic animals from drinking from it.
There have been no reports of drinking-water contamination because water utilities shut down their intake valves ahead of the plume to keep it out of their systems. Farmers also closed the gates on their irrigation ditches to protect their crops, and Colorado officials were testing the effects on fish.
The sludge is creeping toward communities in northern New Mexico, where tests also were being done. But the EPA says no information has been released yet.
New Mexico officials were angry they were not told of the spill until Thursday, nearly a day after it occurred.
"We're having a real problem getting EPA to tell us what's in this stuff," Don Cooper, emergency manager for San Juan County, New Mexico, said earlier Friday. "We're just kind of shooting in the dark and telling people to stay away from it."
McGrath apologized for the EPA's response and for previously sounding "cavalier" about the concerns for public health and the environment.
"Our initial response to it was not appropriate in that we did not understand the full extent of what we were looking at here," he said.
Few details have been released about the spill, except that a cleanup crew accidentally breached a containment structure. The crew was trying to enter the mine as part of a project to pump and treat the water, EPA spokeswoman Lisa McClain-Vanderpool said.
The waste spilled into Cement Creek, which flows into the Animas River north of the historic mining town of Silverton in Colorado's San Juan Mountains.
The river is a recreational destination and even served as the backdrop for parts of the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Passengers on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad snap thousands of photos of the waterway as the steam-powered trains chug up the narrow canyon beside it.
"It's such a shame, it's such a beautiful river," said Jeff McCoy, who was watching from the riverbank in Durango, where he was on a fishing trip with his son.
"We usually come out here in the beautiful weather to fish, but no fishing today," said McCoy, who lives in Phoenix.
It's expected to reach the northern New Mexico cities of Aztec and Farmington by Friday evening. The heavy metals were making the plume travel more slowly than expected, and it was unclear how far it would reach or when it would dissipate, officials said.
The river had begun to clear up in Silverton, McClain-Vanderpool said. Officials were releasing extra water from at least one reservoir to help dilute the pollution.
The Animas River flows into New Mexico's San Juan River, which is home to some endangered fish and joins the Colorado River in Utah.
Utah's director of water quality, Walt Baker, said residents were advised to avoid the affected rivers.
"Until we know what we're up against and what the effects will be, we're saying, 'Be cautious,'" Baker said.
Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com/
Author: Kristin Wyatt
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